NEW INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NAMED FOR SAY YES GUILFORD

PRESS RELEASE

GREENSBORO, NC – Feb. 24, 2017 – Nadia Del Valle, National Program Director for Say Yes to Education, has been appointed Interim Executive Director of Say Yes Guilford, the chapter of the national nonprofit organization that serves the 70,000 public and charter school students in Guilford County, North Carolina. Del Valle succeeds Mary Vigue, who is leaving Say Yes Guilford after serving as Executive Director since October 2015, shortly after Say Yes announced that Guilford County had won a national competition to be its latest partner community.

The national Say Yes to Education organization said that it would work with the local community partnership to identify a permanent successor to Vigue.

“We thank Mary Vigue for the invaluable role she played in launching Say Yes Guilford, and, in particular, for ensuring this fall that thousands of Guilford County high school students went to colleges and universities with scholarships and other support from Say Yes Guilford and its higher education partners,’’ said Mary Anne Schmitt-Carey, the President of the national Say Yes to Education organization. “We look forward to working with the leadership of the local partnership as it ramps up the support services it will provide to students and their families so that they are fully prepared to not only seize the opportunity afforded by a scholarship but also to complete a college or other postsecondary education.”

Del Valle was the Senior Director of Operations and Programs for Say Yes’ chapter in Buffalo, NY, before serving as National Program Director for Say Yes to Education. Her responsibilities included oversight of expanded learning opportunities, including those offered by the Say Yes Buffalo partnership after school. She was previously Executive Director of the Erie County Youth Bureau, the upstate New York agency responsible for providing funding to various youth development programs throughout the county.

While attending college in California, Del Valle was responsible for the oversight of four youth centers and three community centers located on the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base, providing services to over 2,500 families.

About Say Yes Guilford

Say Yes to Education Guilford was formally announced on September 17, 2015. Guilford County vied with more than two dozen mid-sized cities and counties throughout the United States to become the next community partner for Say Yes to Education, a national nonprofit based in New York City. Say Yes to Education Guilford seeks to help Guilford County Schools system students get the support they need to graduate from high school and be ready for post-secondary success. This support starts with the youngest learners and continues until students graduate from college or postsecondary programs. In addition, the program provides “last-dollar” tuition and other postsecondary scholarships to eligible Guilford County Schools graduates so they can afford to complete college or a postsecondary certificate. For more information, visit www.SayYesGuilford.org.

About Say Yes National

Founded in 1987, Say Yes to Education is a nonprofit that partners with communities around the goal of every public school student not only graduating high school – but doing so with the preparation to complete a college or other postsecondary education, and with access to resources to make that education affordable. At the heart of Say Yes is a powerful incentive for families and communities: the prospect of a college scholarship, whether to an in-state public institution or one of the more than 100 private colleges and universities in the Say Yes National Higher Education Compact. Say Yes and its partners ensure that students have the support outside the classroom to clear the path to academic achievement. Say Yes works with its community partners to bring together every local stakeholder and arms that coalition with the tools to boost postsecondary participation and success. Those systems and structures enable the work of the local Say Yes partnership to go to scale and be sustained through predictable transitions in leadership, and historically unpredictable funding from state and local sources. The organization’s support services are available to more than 130,000 public school student, pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Most are in communitywide chapters in Syracuse (a pilot that began in 2008) and Buffalo (2012), as well as Guilford County (Greensboro-High Point), North Carolina (2015). Say Yes, which has already begun the search for its fourth community chapter, has smaller chapters in Harlem in New York City and Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.SayYestoEducation.org.

Contact Us

Are you inspired by the goals and approach of Say Yes? We invite you to reach out to the Say Yes National office or to a Say Yes chapter, to learn more about how you can get involved.